How To Get A Car Loan With Bad Credit

Posted by Nick Niesen on October 29th, 2010

Recent years have made it a little easier to get a car loan - even if you have bad credit. The truth is that some lenders are actually looking to give money to people with bad credit. Typically called sub prime lenders, they can give you the loan you need to buy the car you want.

Although they certainly will check your credit record, they will be more concerned with your ability to pay and your current employment. If you have had your current job for about six months and make enough income to reasonably make the payments, you can most likely get the car loan.

Another thing that will be necessary is to have an active checking account. Your payments may need to be automatically deducted from your checking account each month to make them happy. It provides a little more security for them - especially if you have your paycheck directly deposited into that account.

Before you apply for your car loan, however, there may be a couple of things you can do to get better interest rates. You need to get a copy of your credit report and make sure everything on it is accurately reported. If it needs correcting, contact the reporting agency and work to have the corrections made. Then, you will need to wait at least a month (possibly two) to make sure the corrections are actually applied. Remember that your interest rates are directly tied to this report, and so will be the amount you can borrow.

If possible, it is also a good idea to pay down any existing debt you have. This will help bring up your credit score even more. A lender always considers your debt to income ratio and will give you a better deal with the less you owe. Owing too much will mean you do not get as good a deal as you might expect.

You will also want to know exactly how much you can afford, since getting too large of a loan can only hurt you more. Set yourself a goal and borrow only what is good for you at this time.

Apply online to several lenders and get auto loan quotes from them. You will probably want to get at least six different ones and be sure that you apply for them around the same time - within about 10 days. This way, it will only be counted as one loan application by the credit bureaus.

Compare the various loan applications and then apply to the best one. Seek to get preapproved for your auto loan so you know exactly how much money you have available to you. Besides that, taking a check to the dealer will help you get better terms. Because you are not sure how much you will receive, it is not a good idea to choose your car before you get the blank check. It will expire within about 30 days or so. Be sure to investigate car prices online and it will enable you to get more car for your money. If need be, or when your credit gets a little better, refinance the loan for an even better deal.